A history of cancer research: Tumor suppressor genes

Abstract

Tumor suppressor genes encode critical intracellular regulators, such as the retinoblastoma protein. They control processes including cell proliferation, cell survival, and responses to DNA damage and are frequently mutated in cancer. In this excerpt from his forthcoming book on the history of cancer research, Joe Lipsick looks back at the discovery of tumor suppressor genes, covering the early work on cell fusion by Henry Harris, Knudson’s two-hit hypothesis, the genetic mapping studies that first identified the RB gene, and subsequent work on silencing.